Multi-crystalline silicon is commonly produced in the form of ingots that are then cut into wafers for, among other things, use in the production of photovoltaic (PV) cell and PV module production. The quality of multi-crystalline silicon, e.g., how well it will perform, is influenced by numerous factors during the production of the multi-crystalline silicon. Various parameters of multi-crystalline silicon may be evaluated as part of the evaluation of the quality of multi-crystalline silicon. One parameter that is sometimes examined is the size and distribution of grain in a wafer of multi-crystalline silicon.
Grain size evaluation is commonly performed by visual inspection. Samples of a multi-crystalline silicon wafer are visually inspected and the number of grains intercepting a line drawn on the wafer are manually counted. Such manual inspection is a time consuming and cumbersome procedure susceptible to human error. At least one known method of inspecting multi-crystalline silicon wafers involves scanning a wafer from various heights, converting the scanned images to black and white images, and having a computer count the number of grains in each image. The cumulative percentage share of occupation of the wafer's surface by different grain sizes and/or average grain size is then calculated. Such known methods and systems are unsatisfactory due to susceptibility to human error, mechanical complications, and other issues. Accordingly, a better method and system is needed.
This Background section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art that may be related to various aspects of the disclosure, which are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present disclosure. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.